Agilent Power Supply E3615A or U8001A

[Richard W.]

Hi,

I think about getting a second lab-power supply. At the moment i only have a HP E3610A. A good PSU, but not enough power 

The Agilent E3615A (20V/3A) would be fine. It's about 600€ here in germany. Thats pretty expensive.
I found another supply, the Agilent U8001A (30V/3A). It's more powerfull, but the data of noise and ripple aren't as good as the E3615A.
It has a load switch and a nice display and seems to be 'newer'. Pro's and con's... It's about 300€.

Has anyone experience with the U8001A? Why is there such a huge difference in price?


Richard

[Alex]

You can also have a look at the Rigol programmable ones, Shahriar over at TheSignalPath did a good review of them

http://thesignalpath.com/blogs/2011/08/30/rigol-dp1116a-and-dp1308a-programmable-power-supply-review/

[phil_jp1]

E3615A - it's like E3610A - a classic low-noise pure analog linear power supply.
8001A - it's also linear, but with MCU(DSP) control. Sorry, I had no experience with this one, but I've seen one inside. Very good construction, just like other Agilent products, and it has a lot of op-amps inside, so I think it must have not pure digital feedback loop, but analog feedback loop with MCU control on top.

If you don't work with high precision analog circuits, 8001A - might be a better choice. It gives you more functionality.

You can also have a look at the Rigol programmable ones, Shahriar over at TheSignalPath did a good review of them

http://thesignalpath.com/blogs/2011/08/30/rigol-dp1116a-and-dp1308a-programmable-power-supply-review/

Yes, he did a review, but not a teardown! We don't know what's inside, and by the way they're relatively not so cheap.

- Phil

[phil_jp1]

I just found some photos of U8001A teardown on some Chinese(I think) forum:

http://www.hkepc.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=1662201

- Phil

[Alex]

I believe Richard is after value, not price.

I am sure Richard will choose a suitable supply for his needs, with the Rigol ones being two extra choices.

[phil_jp1]

I believe Richard is after value, not price.

I am sure Richard will choose a suitable supply for his needs, with the Rigol ones being two extra choices.

I am definitely not against Rigol power supplies! Those are some nice PSUs. But after seeing teardowns of Rigol DG2041A function generator and Rigol DM3068 6.5 digit bench multimeter, I have some questions about their power supplies build quality and internal construction.

If I would be thinking about which power supply to choose, I would rather not to buy a black box. But that's just my opinion.

[elCap]

I have a HP E3615A. Bought it used, about $90, made 1997 and still going strong.

A good design, mainly through hole, no fan, low ripple. There are many connections at the back that can be used for many things like, using sense wires, connect many PS in series or parallel, remote voltage adjustment, etc. Mains voltage setting can be changed inside by switches.

There is no output on/off switch but the output is well controlled when using the main power button. On my unit there is a small spike when turned on before the voltage start raising (if I remember correctly 9us, 3V, no change with load). If that's a problem, it's easy to suppress by connecting a big capacitor over the output, I have seen that on other Agilent supply, for instance on E3631A in a tear down here on the forum.

On the bad side; easy to accidently change the voltage setting when connecting wires, if tripping the over voltage protection you have to restart the supply (maybe good..).

The service manual including the schematics can be found on the Agilent site.

I have some pictures and measurements on it which I plan to post in a new tear down topic.

[mike_kawasaki]

Hi,

I think about getting a second lab-power supply. At the moment i only have a HP E3610A. A good PSU, but not enough power 

The Agilent E3615A (20V/3A) would be fine. It's about 600€ here in germany. Thats pretty expensive.
I found another supply, the Agilent U8001A (30V/3A). It's more powerfull, but the data of noise and ripple aren't as good as the E3615A.
It has a load switch and a nice display and seems to be 'newer'. Pro's and con's... It's about 300€.

Has anyone experience with the U8001A? Why is there such a huge difference in price?


Richard

Richard, you already mentioned the difference with the ripple and noise.

A few other key differences:
* U8001A has keypad lock and 3 save/recall settings
* E3615A has remote sensing and analog remote programming.

Depending on your requirements, the U8001A is a new design and expected to replace some E36XX family.  The team tried to put in some new features while creating a new design/platform to lower overall costs.  I think they did a great job  .

If you don't need the E3615A features, I think the U8001A newer design has more "bang for the buck".

As always, comes down to your requirements.

Hope this is helpful!

Mike
Agilent

p.s.  I really love reading these questions on the blog.  It reminds me that our marketing material should do a much better job of comparing the Agilent products so your buying decision is easier (or least you're more informed about the trade-offs).

[Richard W.]

Has anyone experience with these (http://www.array.sh/yq-3600e.htm) PSUs? Is Array a good reputable manufacturer?
They are about 350€ on ebay.
This PSUs look like the cheap series of "Gossen Metrawatt Konstanter" (http://www.gossenmetrawatt.com/english/produkte/lsp100.htm)...

[alm]

I wouldn't consider Array reputable, the DMM that Keithley rebadged had several firmware bugs and it was not well received. They may not be worse than other manufacturers that compete purely on price (eg. Rigol), however. The design of something simpler like a power supply might by harder to screw up than a DMM.

[Bored@Work]

Array is a low-end manufacturer. However, this 3600 series of power supplies is on the market for some time now, and people seem to be OK with it. They are occasionally rebadged, e.g. Circuit Specialist selling them under their own CSI brand http://www.circuitspecialists.com/programmable-bench-power-supply-csi3645a.html since some years. They also go by the name Tekpower. And I wouldn't be surprised if Gossen is also selling rebadged Arrays.

350 Euro on ebay is too expensive for one. See, for example, the CS link above or http://www.thelabeshop.com/default.asp?id=1389&searchfile=3645a or http://labtronix.co.uk/drupal/shop/powersupply/3645a 

You can occasionally find deals where the PC interface adapter is included, which I would recommend to get.

[Richard W.]

Thanks for your "warnings" and the links, alm and BoredAtWork. 

I think i'll buy the E3615A.
The U8002E would be nice and it's reasonably priced. But i don't like the wiring inside... Oh dear... 

[phil_jp1]

Thanks for your "warnings" and the links, alm and BoredAtWork. 

I think i'll buy the E3615A.
The U8002E would be nice and it's reasonably priced. But i don't like the wiring inside... Oh dear... 

May I ask what you don't like about the wiring? It seems to me just fine.

[nukie]

You cant go wrong with HP. Mine was still working even when nearly all the caps crapped themselves. I fixed the badly corroded tracks and replaced the leaking caps, no difference in performance. If you have one that is on regulary for years my advise is open it up and give it. Routine check. The ori caps are good united chemicon caps.

[Richard W.]

Sorry for the late reply...

May I ask what you don't like about the wiring? It seems to me just fine.

It doesn't look as tidy as it should in such an expensive apparatus. 

You cant go wrong with HP. Mine was still working even when nearly all the caps crapped themselves. I fixed the badly corroded tracks and replaced the leaking caps, no difference in performance. If you have one that is on regulary for years my advise is open it up and give it. Routine check. The ori caps are good united chemicon caps.

Sounds good. That's how it should be. My E3610A works and looks also perfectly after about 17 years of operation.
So i think the E3615A is the perfect complement.

[willd1971]

Hi guys,

Regarding the Array 3645A power supplies.  I keep stock of them and the others in the range: 3644A and 3646A.  I also tried Array's electronic loads but they're a bit more 'specialist' so not planning to restock those at the moment.  I've not spent a lot of time with them so far, been too busy with soldering irons and oscilloscopes recently!  But I do plan to get one on the bench soon and remove its clothes for you all to see.  I think they're quite robust and have a similar feel to the HP units we have at work. 

One of the definite plus points about the Array PSUs (apart from price) is the supporting features which are relevant when you use a compatible interface module (USB, Ethernet, or RS232), there's their own PC control and logging interface as well as a bunch of utilities and examples to get your own interface running through ActiveX, Labview, and any development environment supporting virtual COM port or sockets.  These units can also be calibrated and there's procedures and software freely available to facilitate this so they are suitable for pro use.

So if you want to see inside I'll do it in January!

Happy Christmas

William
www.labtronix.co.uk